Deals lawyers used to advise corporate clients worried about vulnerability to a takeover that precaution was legally better than acting in haste. It was a good idea to get their shareholders rights plans and other defenses in place long before they were catapulted into the spotlight by a takeover bid or some other news, good or bad. Amid the tumultuous economy and capital markets of recent months, some companies are moving virtually in step with a triggering event. Take Genesis Microchip Inc., which voted in a poison pill in mid-June, around the time that the Toronto-based company’s stock took a pounding when it reported an expected revenue decline and not before CEO Amnon Fisher resigned. On a more positive note, Del Monte Foods Co. installed a pill at the same time it was taking the wraps off a Morris Trust-type stock deal to pick up a package of H.J. Heinz Co. brands. Other companies adopting pills in June included: Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.; BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Sepracor Inc.; ValueClick Inc.; and Washington Group International Inc.
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